Chemtrails (song)
| "Chemtrails" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Beck | ||||
| from the album Modern Guilt | ||||
| B-side | "Vampire Voltage No. 6" | |||
| Released | June 22, 2008 | |||
| Format | Digital download, 7" | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, dream pop | |||
| Length | 4:39 | |||
| Label | DGC Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Beck Hansen | |||
| Producer(s) | Danger Mouse | |||
| Beck singles chronology | ||||
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"Chemtrails" is a 2008 single by American musician Beck. The song, taken from his eighth studio album, Modern Guilt, was released digitally on June 22, 2008.
The artwork for the single uses a design based on Houndstooth patterning.
Track listing
- Digital download[1]
- "Chemtrails" – 4:39
- 7"[2]
- "Chemtrails" – 4:39
- "Vampire Voltage No. 6" – 2:19
Release and reception
"Chemtrails" was premiered by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 on May 19, 2008.[3] The song was made available to stream from Beck's official website and his MySpace.[3][4] The song was available to download on June 22, 2008, or a day later in the United States, as well as a pre-order of Modern Guilt.[5][6] The song's title refers to the chemtrail conspiracy theory, as do the lyrics: "I can't believe/What we've seen outside/You and me/Watching the jets go by".[7]
The critical reception for "Chemtrails" was generally positive. Kitty Empire of The Observer compared the "beautiful" song to a clash between The Beatles and My Bloody Valentine.[8] USA Today featured the song on its weekly playlist, complimenting Beck's "eerie falsetto over slow-building industrialized Radiohead-like ambience."[9] Billboard said that "Beck's falsetto singing rides along a bouncing bassline and crashing drums, with Danger Mouse's trademark production touches filing [sic] the crannies."[3] The song was described as "trippy" by MTV News.[10] "Chemtrails" received high praise for "its woozy textures ... with Beck's distracted vocal and a busy drum track complementing each other perfectly."[11] James Lawrenson, writing for ClickMusic, said the song was "like a more electrified Sea Change, ambient and slightly sombre, but beautiful nonetheless." The review described the song's "synth washes and sparse instrumentation" as creating "an airy, atmospheric feel."[12]
The song was inspired by the song "The Four Horsemen" by Aphrodite's Child.
As promotion for the album, limited edition copies of a "Chemtrails" 7" were distributed to independent record stores and were given to customers upon purchase of the album. The b-side is a song entitled "Vampire Voltage No. 6." Copies made in the UK were pressed on glow-in-the-dark white vinyl, while copies made for the US were pressed on standard black vinyl.[13]
In Italy, this song is used as the theme song to "L'era glaciale" ("The Ice Age") - not to be confused with the Ice Age movie, a talk show hosted by Italian TV personality Daria Bignardi on Rai 2, which was aired between 20 March and 4 December 2009.
References
- ↑ "Chemtrails — Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. 2008-06-22. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ↑ "Chemtrails UK 7". EIL.com. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Jonathan Cohen (2008-05-19). "Billboard Bits: Beck, Liz Phair, Bonnaroo". Billboard.com. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ "Beck announces new album tracklisting". NME. IPC Media. 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ "Beck spreading across the web like a virus". antiMUSIC.com. 2008-06-30. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ "Beck streams new tracks online". NME. IPC Media. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ Alex Rayner (2008-06-23). "Beck is back, but what's the conspiracy about chemtrails?". guardian.co.uk. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ Kitty Empire (2008-06-29). "Dangerous times with Beck and the Mouse". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ Edna Gundersen (2008-06-02). "This week's playist". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ "For The Record: Beck, Motley Crue, Michael Jackson & More". MTV News. MTV. 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ Ben Hogwood (2008-06-08). "Beck — Chemtrails (XL)". MusicOMH.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ James Lawrenson (2008-06-23). "Chemtrails". ClickMusic.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ↑ unknown (2008-07-08). "Disco Quebrado — Beck Discography — Chemtrails". Whiskeyclone.net. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
External links
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